June 4th, 2008

The role of the youth and women in national reconciliation and unity has been put forward into perspective five months since the bungled elections Kenyan elections held last year on December 27.

Speaking during a public forum on the future of Kenya titled “Consolidating National Cohesion and Unity” as spelt out by the Kenyan National Dialogue and Reconciliation at Hekima College Auditorium, Ngong Road Ms Jacqueline Anam – Mogeni, an Advocate and Gender Consultant said women have been marginalised by being oppressed, victimised and excluded from peace building yet they were the most affected during the post election crisis.

“The Beijing Experience of 1995 was phenomenal as the Kenyan Women who attended the conference returned home with a new sense of empowerment and began to clearly articulate the challenges women were facing in Kenya right to the grassroots and tackling discriminatory legislation head on. But the differences soon emerged and it apparently became clear that women are not homogeneous. They have their peculiarities, interests, social classes, cultural roots and ethnic tensions,” she pointed out.

Ms Anam added that October 2000 saw the signing of UN Security Council resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security. The Resolution 1325, or simply “1325,” as it is referred to recognizes that civilians - particularly women and children – are the worst affected by conflict, and that this is a threat to peace and security as was witnessed during the January and February internal conflict and so women’s participation in conflict prevention and resolution initiatives cannot be overemphasized

“Conceptually there are tensions on how women and women’s concerns should be included in processes of peace building – our own example of constitution of the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Committee (TJRC) is a good example,” she avers.

She cautioned that many agencies are focusing on preventing or recovering from the unrest though this emphasis on overt direct violence between large groups of people is important it is failing to fully challenge the structural origins of public violence and the private violence (often against women and children) that accompanies public violence and adds that in addition, it falsely assumes that the major actors in these public struggles are men.

Kenyans own efforts to bring about peace since December have looked toward political and civil society leaders (mostly men) and these have been the key people to include in dialogues and efforts to build peace and prevent conflict.

UNIFEM and women’s civil society actors, she said, point to the need for examining the web of violence that accompanies public violence. This web, she observed, often begins with some form of structural violence where some ethnic, religious, class, or other identity groups receive unearned privileges while others are discriminated against and Kenyan women are caught up in this web and so it is important that women are engaged.

The Gender Consultant revealed that women need to be engaged because they constitute half of the Kenyan population and the tasks of peace building are so great; women and men must be partners in the process. “Besides, women are the central caretakers of our families in this country and right now everyone (men, women, and children) is suffering because women are oppressed, victimized, and excluded from peace building. So their centrality to communal life makes their inclusion in peace building essential.”

Unknown to many, women have the capacity for both violence and peace, so they must be encouraged to use their gifts in building peace and it would be helpful if special programs could be created to empower women to use their gifts in the tasks of building peace.

She notes that women and men have different experiences of violence and peace, women must be allowed and encouraged to bring their unique insights and gifts to the process of peace building because sexism, racism, classism, ethnic and religious discrimination originate from the same set of beliefs that some people are inherently “better” than others, women’s empowerment should be seen as inherent to the process of building peace and because violence against women is connected to other forms of violence, women need to be involved in peace building efforts that particularly focus on this form of particular form of violence.

Rita Njau an advocacy officer and programmes coordinator of Jesuit Hakimani Centre stated that there is need to have positive relations in the society for cohesion to be there and provide equal opportunities for all. Kenyans should embrace common vision and values as it is enshrined in the words of the National Anthem. She adds that Kenyans are seriously looking at issues of safety, opportunity for all and people to feel that they belong and it is the youth and women who have mostly been affected and marginalised as the country moves forward in national reconciliation and unity.

Mr. Jillo A. Kasse, a Development Consultant stated that five months following the announcement of a disputed election, Kenya has a Grand Coalition Government and The National Accord and Reconciliation Act 2008 has created the space to commence work on rebuilding Kenya.

The speaker, who also contested in Galole constituency pointed out the items for discussion under Agenda no. 4 Long Term issues and Solutions which are undertaking constitutional, legal and institutional reform, tackling poverty and inequity, as well as combating regional development imbalances, tackling unemployment, particularly among the youth, Consolidating national cohesion and unity, undertaking a land reform and addressing transparency, accountability and impunity.

He said, the violence that rocked the country after the disputed presidential elections and nearly brought the country into near totally anarchy has more than ever shown what the youth can do that is both for the good of the country if facilitated, both positively and negatively.

The land reform policy, he said, is an issue that should not be swept aside. The new lands minister Mr. James Orengo agrees that there is a land dimension to the crisis he describes as "perennial", coming before or after General Elections.

Land and its ownership, Orengo says, is what will destroy Kenya, unless there is a change in the style of its sharing and ownership.

"The appetite for land is not limited to the poor and the landless. Even those who have land have an insatiable thirst for more. It is those who have land who keep looking for more," Orengo says.

Jillo stated that it is the youths who were easily used in this land related violence. However, “the youths can be positively harnessed in the process of reconciliation and uniting Kenya through civic education, healing, rebuilding, change agents, resource mobilization and peace makers,” he added.

He noted that after the post election violence a trail of traumatized women, children and men were left behind. The youth, he said can facilitate in the healing process either as peer educators and counselors in their communities and neighbouring communities too.

“They can also play an active role as Change agents and show the new dispensation in Kenya - the Kenya we want,” he observed the Development Consultant. He pointed out that though the youth do not control many resources, they form a large percentage of Kenyan’s population and they can play a lead role in resource mobilization as peace makers.

“In the end, reconciliation is a spiritual process, which requires more than just a legal framework. It has to happen in the hearts and minds of people. People have to repent and forgive,” said Jillo adding that the youth, who are honest in their hearts, can lead in the process. They need to be incorporated in the community structures discussing peace.

Jillo was saddened that the political elite pay lip service to youth participation in governance citing how central the youth were in all the political parties during the elections compared to what percentage today are in decision making positions?

Further citing the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), he said “African leaders who formulated NEPAD in 2001 incorporated the MDGs within their plan, including goals which explicitly address youth. NEPAD has identified the challenges facing the youth such as lack of skills and training or access to funds for project implementation, and fully supports the principle of empowered, informed and enabled youths who will be well positioned to tackle challenges that undermine their development.”

The youth, he proposed should become a recognized voice and play their role as stakeholders in national reconciliation and unity. He called for affirmative action through a legal framework where a certain percentage of national resources are availed to youth initiatives and organizations. “We need resources to carry out awareness campaigns, peer education and public fora unfortunately the youth don’t control these resources and finally training in politics and parliamentary procedures to become relevant actors in the political arena,” Jillo lamented.

The forum was organised by Jesuit Hakimani Centre and Hekima College, a constituent college of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) based in Nairobi Kenya.